The Peak District
Gritstone edges and limestone dales, within an hour's travel of a third of England and Wales.
High point: Kinder Scout, 636 m
Where to base yourself
Matlock
Derwent gorge base on the Derby railway, High Tor on foot.
Station: Matlock
343 to stay
Bakewell
A market town at one end of an old railway.
341 to stay
Hartington
Duck pond, cheese shop, three limestone dales on the doorstep.
280 to stay
Buxton
A market town at 300m, and one bus ride from Edale.
Station: Buxton
202 to stay
Castleton
Caves, a castle, and the ridge that closed a road.
Station: Hope
201 to stay
Hathersage
A station, a pool, and Stanage Edge a couple of miles north.
Station: Hathersage
199 to stay
Edale
The end of the road, and the start of the Pennine Way.
Station: Edale
174 to stay
Ashbourne
Five miles south of Dovedale, at the foot of the Tissington Trail.
Station: Uttoxeter
165 to stay
Leek
A market town below the Roaches, with the gritstone 6km off.
Station: Congleton
94 to stay
Hayfield
The Mass Trespass village, at Kinder Scout's western foot.
Station: New Mills Central
89 to stay
Hot tubs in the Peak District
Booking through these links earns a commission. The price is the same.
Alsop-en-le-Dale, near Ashbourne, Derbyshire
Limestone Cottage
Sleeps 8 · 4 beds
- Hot tub
- Wood burner
- Dogs
from £1,943 / week
Check dates for Limestone Cottage (opens the booking site in a new tab)Checked 5 Oct
Bradnop near Leek
Pastures Barn
Sleeps 6 · 3 beds
- Hot tub
- Wood burner
- Dogs
from £1,330 / week
Check dates for Pastures Barn (opens the booking site in a new tab)Checked 9 Oct
Alsop-en-le-Dale, near Ashbourne, Derbyshire
Valley View - Peak District
Sleeps 8 · 4 beds
- Hot tub
- Wood burner
- Dogs
from £1,526 / week
Check dates for Valley View - Peak District (opens the booking site in a new tab)Checked 5 Oct
All 1063 stays in the Peak District All 153 with hot tubs The 616 that take dogs
Walks
Bleaklow Head and the B-29 wreck
A rough moorland circuit from the Snake Pass onto Bleaklow Head, crossing Doctor's Gate to the wrecked B-29 bomber at Higher Shelf Stones.
- 15.4 km
- 470 m up
- 5 hr 50 min moving
- Hard
Cave Dale
A short, steep circular walk from Castleton up a dry limestone gorge, past Peveril Castle, in the Peak District's Hope Valley.
- 6 km
- 256 m up
- 2 hr 30 min
- Moderate
Chrome Hill and Parkhouse Hill
Two limestone reef knolls above the upper Dove, climbed as a 7km horseshoe from Hollinsclough with a scramble on Chrome Hill's narrow crest.
- 7.2 km
- 389 m up
- 2 hr 30 min
- Hard
Kinder Scout via Grindsbrook Clough
A hard circular walk from Edale onto the Kinder Scout plateau, ascending Grindsbrook Clough and returning via Jacob's Ladder.
- 12.7 km
- 527 m up
- 5 hr 30 min
- Hard
Lathkill Dale from Over Haddon
An easy circular walk from Over Haddon into Lathkill Dale, a National Nature Reserve on the River Lathkill.
- 5 km
- 130 m up
- 2 hr
- Easy
Mam Tor and the Great Ridge
A circular walk onto Mam Tor's summit and along the start of the Great Ridge, including the abandoned Broken Road.
- 4.2 km
- 239 m up
- 2 hr
- Moderate
Views without the walk
Curbar Edge
A gritstone edge above the Derwent Valley reached directly from Curbar Gap car park, with views to Chatsworth and Baslow.
- Drive to it
- Faces west
High Tor, Matlock Bath
A limestone crag 120m above the Derwent gorge at Matlock Bath, with a Victorian cliff-ledge path called Giddy Edge and a view west over the valley.
- Faces west
Monsal Head
A viewpoint over Monsal Dale and the Headstone Viaduct, reached directly from a pay and display car park near Bakewell.
- Drive to it
- View all round
Surprise View
A roadside viewpoint above Hathersage looking across the Hope Valley to Mam Tor and the Great Ridge.
- Drive to it
- View all round
Winnats Pass, Castleton
Winnats Pass is the limestone gorge road west of Castleton in the Peak District. Park at Speedwell Cavern or Castleton; walk beside the road or above it.
- Drive to it
- View all round
Adventure
Peak Cavern
Britain's largest natural cave entrance, a show cave beneath Peveril Castle with a history of rope-making inside its mouth.
- caving
- Peak Cavern
Climbing on Stanage Edge
One of the most famous climbing venues in the UK, three miles of gritstone edge above Hathersage with routes at every grade.
- climbing
Trips
- A week in Bakewell without a hard day 6 nights
- Kinder Scout and Castleton, from Edale 3 nights
- Hathersage by train, Stanage on foot 5 nights